Miss Carol and me were at our tiny-trailer-home and I had to go to Home Depot to get a few important something or others and after I walked LoLa around in the parking lot for an hour, visiting all the parking lot islands so she’d pee and poop before we went into the store, we finally went in.
In the entryway area Home Depot had staged some racks of little, teeny, tiny plants that Miss Carol told me later are called succulents.
Why, I don’t know.
And they were cute and teeny tiny and I thought that maybe a couple would look nice on my recently installed hanging bookshelves in our tiny-trailer-home.
So I stopped and I looked. And I looked for awhile while LoLa tried to drag away the shopping cart she was hooked to, but nothing really grabbed me. None of the little succulents whispered to me- take me home with you.
I was ready to give up and move on and get the important something or others I’d originally come for when LoLa somehow got her leash tangled in the shopping cart wheels and when I bent to untangle her I saw on one of the bottom trays a forlorn looking, bedraggled little plant laying on it’s side all by itself.
I got LoLa untangled and reached in to see what the little plant was.
When I saw the tag, my breath caught in my throat and my heart started to pound. I looked around me to see if anyone was watching me and then I took the tag out of the soil and stuffed it in my pocket.
I glanced around me again and decided to hell with the important something or others. I needed to get my plant paid for and out of the store before anyone caught on to what I’d found.
So- walking briskly- trying not to run, with LoLa scurrying to keep up, I made my way to the checkout. The self-checkouts were full so I had to go to a cashier. Fortunately for me, the barcode was on the bottom of the pot and not on the tag in my pocket.
The cashier picked up my half-dead, under-watered plant, scanned the bottom, and managed to get it back into the moving cart as LoLa pulled it away.
Cute dog, she said.
Thanks, I said, grabbing the cart.
$3.24. Will that be all?, she said.
Yes, please, I said, not wanting to seem over-eager.
So I paid and gathered up LoLa and my little plant and ran out to my pickup and hurried home.
When I got home, Miss Carol looked at me and asked where the important something or others were and I told her not to worry about those right now- LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND INSTEAD!
Miss Carol looked at my sad little plant and shrugged.
But then I yanked the tag out of my pocket and pushed it into the soil and held it out to her again.
Smiling at my little plant, I told her it was only $3.24 and to get ready ’cause pretty soon it was gonna be rainin’ dollar bills!
And Miss Carol said- are you insane?
oceandoggy.com 